SPOTS Routine, Script & DVD by Bill Abbott - Trick

"When I was 14 years old I saw
Michael Ross perform at the anniversary party of a local magic shop here
in Toronto. One of the pieces he performed was his original
presentation and handling for the spot card that baffled me completely.
Even though I had a version of the same prop at home, Michael seemed to
make the spots appear like magic and more incredibly with audience
members on all sides of him! I am so proud to offer this complete
package with Michaels unparalleled routine. I have added this routine to
my show and now you can too." - Bill Abbott

The Effect The
performer explains that he will place the audience under a mild
hypnotic spell and demonstrate an optical illusion in the form of a card
with four(?) sides. True to form the magician proceeds to show a large
black domino-like card with white spots. One spot on one side, four on
the other, then three on the third(?) side and six (?) on the other!
This is shown two more times and then the performer explains the
psychological and manual manipulation that creates the illusion of a
four sided card. Due to the way the card is held the spots are either
displayed or covered by the fingers and the minds of the audience create
the illusion of a four sided card. Then things get strange when the
performer shows that the illusions have become a reality and spots start
magically appearing at every turn of the card. Finally in one final
turn of the card, it is suddenly filled with white dots bringing the
routine (and hypnotic spell!) to a mind blowing conclusion!

An Introduction The
spot card has been an unsung standard in the repertoire of many
professional performers, including magic superstar David Copperfield.
Michael Ross, under the stage name of Merlin, has developed the perfect
fusion of elegant technique and engaging performance unlike any other
spot card routine. With Michael's handling you can perform this up close
and completely surrounded as Michael often has in the over 30 years of
performing this routine. On the street, at a house party or for 2500 on a
theatre stage, Spots is truly a pack small play anywhere routine.

SPOTS Pro Package Includes: - Printed scripts for both the adult routine and the family routine.

A 60 minute DVD featuring:

A Live Performance Michael
performs the routine for an adult audience at an intimate private
party. You will experience how Spots plays for a modern audience of
professionals in a house party environment.

A Personal History Michael
shares his initial inspiration for the optical illusion presentation
from a Pavel effect and his discontent with the traditional spot card
handling that led to SPOTS Michael's original spot card technique.

Routines, Audiences & Venues Michael
has performed this routine for every kind of audience and in every kind
of environment. Children audiences, family audiences, corporate
audiences, comedy clubs and even silently to music. Michael explains how
he has used SPOTS as a great segue piece, a lead in into the Invisible
Deck or to the Torn & Restored Newspaper effect. The idea, the
premise and the patter sets everything up for the tricks he performs
during his show. Michael dissects the guaranteed laugh points during the
routine, how to play the optical illusion sequence to get a laugh and
then how to get two steps ahead of the audience into the multiple spots.

An Audience Proven Routine This is a not a trick
that Michael has performed on dozens of show, or hundreds of shows but a
staple in his repertoire he has performed for thousands of shows over
the course of 30 years. Michael explains how SPOTS became an audience
tested and audience proven effect over years of experience.

The SPOTS Method & Handling Michael
shows how the standard handling and method for the spot card had to be
re-worked to achieve the impact that he wanted the trick to have on his
audiences. He explains how to hold the card so it doesn't block the
audience's view of your face and how to be sure everyone can view the
changes and transformations from any angle, even from behind! The
surrounded handling is explained and demonstrated so that all the secret
movements become invisible no matter where your audience is situated.
Even if you don't ever perform this surrounded Michael explains why
learning the 'surrounded technique' makes for a better rehearsal
experience and overall theatrical competence. Vertical and horizontal
positioning of the card for psychological reasons is clarified and
explained to get maximum impact from the audiences viewpoint. Getting
precise spot movement and how to adjust on the fly if needed is
demonstrated in detail.

Walk-Through from The Performers View A
complete routine sequence from the performer's point of view to nail
the necessary hand positions perfectly for rehearsal. Every nuance of
how to perform the routine and the important "why's" of every aspect are
also explained.

Practice Sequence from the Front & from Behind The
routine sequence performed silently from the front (audience view) and
then from behind (performer's view), to practice along with. This will
help you get the hand positions into your physical memory and get you up
and running that much faster.

Adding Glue or Wax to Perfect Your Technique Michael
explains how he used drops of glue or wax when he first performed the
routine to help line up the spots by feel under fire. This may be of
great help when adapting the routine into your repertoire for the first
few performances.

Adult Routine Studio Performance The entire routine utilizing the adult script (included) is performed for the camera in the studio.

Family Routine Studio Performance The complete family routine with family script (included) is performed for the camera in the studio.

Set-Up & Prop Placement Pre-show
spot set-up for both sides of the cards and how to get the card in and
out of the bag without upsetting the set-up. How and where to place the
card before your performance to ensure a safe, secure and exposure-free
placement of the prop.

Conversation with Bill Abbott Bill
Abbott and Michael Ross discuss their professional relationship over
the years and how Michael's performance of SPOTS made a strong impact on
Bill early on in his performance career. A wide variety of topics are
touched on and commented on including; performance commitment vs. strong
material, how audiences sometimes resent applause cues, producing
laughs by expressing an audience's inner thoughts, letting an audience
enjoy the moment, SPOTS as a 'tester' routine for audiences, and much,
much more.